m^ 




ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 







i 



ON THE SEVENTH OF JANUARY, 1839, 



THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY, 



BY R. H. FORREl§lTER. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE INSTITUTE. 




PITTSBURGII: 

PRINTED BY ALBXANDEB JAYI^S, THIRD STREET. 

1839. 




ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



'/ejU^ii/L c^^t^icp 



ON THE SEVENTH OF JANUARY, 1839, 



THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY, 



BY R. H. FORRESTER. 



PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE INSTITUTE. 



PITTSBURGH: 

PRINTED BY ALEXANDER JAYNES, THIRD STREET. 

1839. 



<,^°' 

V^^--^" 



nA* 



.* = •• ^ 



EXTRACT FROM THE MINUTES OF THE INSTITUTE. 

" Resolved, That the ' Committee on the Anniversary' procure, for publica- 
tion, a copy of the Address delivered by R. H. Forrester, before the Wirt 
Institute, on the first regular meeting, in January; and also communicate the 
high sense of gratijfication with which it was received by his Fellow Members." 



Exchange 
peabody Inst.,Balto, 
J^m. -28 



ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen, 

We have assembled to celebrate the first anniversary 
of our Association — to mark with respect the era of its 
existence — and to mingle our congratulations upon the 
success which has attended its career. 

The division of time into years is the sublime mea- 
surement of nature. It is thus she computes her own 
duration, marking it on the splendid dial of the zodiac, 
and noting man's silent progress to eternity. Thus in- 
structed, individuals, societies, and communities, from 
the earliest period of history, have reckoned the dura- 
tion of their existence in years. 

The expiration of one year and the commencement 
of another is a period of peculiar interest, indicating, 
as it does, that we have turned a new leaf in the great 
book of time, and that the unsullied page of another 
is ready to receive the record, whether of good or evil, 
that we may write upon it. It is a point at which we 
may pause for a moment to review the events of the 
past, and to contemplate the future, spread out in dim 
perspective before us. 

Recent as is the origin of our Institute, and although 
we may not yet advert to any time-hallowed recollec- 
tions — the struggles and triumphs of former years — it 



is with no ordinary feelings of satisfaction that we re- 
view its brief history, and contemplate its success. 
Short as has been the experiment of its operation, its 
prosperity has exceeded the most sanguine expectations 
of its friends. 

The individuals who laid the foundation of the Wirt 
Institute were incited to the enterprize by a conviction 
of the importance of sound knowledge and intellectual 
cultivation to fit them for the duties devolving upon 
them as young men and citizens of the republic. En- 
gaged in mercantile and other pursuits, which neces- 
sarily engrossed a large portion of their time and at- 
tention, they felt the need of an institution to which 
they might retire from the bustle and cares of ordinary 
life, to increase their stores of knowledge, and disci- 
pline their minds by a free interchange of thought, and 
the keen encounters of intellectual conflict. We come 
up to this Hall at stated periods, not for any trivial ob- 
ject, but to investigate and discuss subjects of high and 
practical importance, relating to morals, to the policy 
and history of our government, and to general history 
— the collected experience of past generations. Intel- 
lectual improvement is emphatically the design, the 
express object of our Institute: an object, I am confi- 
dent, worthy of the young men of Pittsburgh, and 
worthy of the great and growing city of which we have 
the honor to be citizens. 

As an indication of the progress of our Institute, 
and of the promise which it gives of future stability and 
usefulness, I cannot but notice with feelings of high 
satisfaction that the foundation is already laid of an ex- 
tensive library, which in a few years may afford to the 



young men of our city facilities for obtaining informa- 
tion which they have not heretofore enjoyed — opening 
wide the temple of knowledge to those who would 
enter in and explore her mysteries. 

We have arrived at that period in life when we may 
no longer indulge the caprice and fickleness of boy- 
hood ; when we may not rashly embark in an enter- 
prize, and as heedlessly abandon it. We have entered 
the arena of real life — we have engaged in its stern 
conflicts — and if we would achieve its rewards, wisdom 
must characterize our undertakings, and firmness their 
execution. It is then no vain expectation to anticipate 
for our Institution a long and honorable existence. 

That we may improve this interesting occasion with 
suitable reflections, no subject strikes me as more ap- 
propriate than the importance and superiority of intel- 
lectual power. 

Inferior in physical strength to other animals, man 
owes his ascendency over animate and inanimate na- 
ture to the mind with which he is endowed. This 
lofty gift of intellect enthroned upon his brow, the light 
of intelligence flashing from his eye, and the erect dig- 
nity of his demeanor, proclaim him the regal head of 
this lower creation. The inferior animals instinctively 
acknowledge his authority, and bend to his will: even 
the lion of the desert, fierce and terrible as he is, quails 
beneath the eye of man, and crouches at his ^qqX. 
Over inanimate matter his dominion is still more ex- 
tensive. Its diversified materials, in obedience to his 
reason and skill, yield whatever can minister to his 
wants or gratify his tastes: its powers arc subservient to 
his purposes ; and before the scrutiny of his investiga- 



6 

tion nature unveils her deepest mysteries. Unculti- 
vated, it is true, his dominion is limited. The untu- 
tored savage roams through his native forests, uncon- 
scious of the treasures beneath his feet and around his 
path. A sharp stone is the only instrument he employs 
to build his wigwam and scoop out his canoe, and the 
trophies of the chase yield his precarious subsistence. 
Nature remains undisturbed by the busy hand of in- 
dustry — the ancient oak is permitted to spread out its 
paternal branches from age to age, untouched by the 
woodman's axe — the earth is strewed with the forest 
leaves — and the unbroken stillness of primeval solitude 
reigns over the scene. But mark! when civihzed, when 
educated man approaches — the forest disappears, 

" Smiling harvests whiten o'er the plains," 

cities start up in the desert as if by enchantment — the 
busy hum of commerce is heard — steamboats navigate 
the rivers, and the locomotive is seen flying along with 
greater rapidity than the forest deer. Intellect has 
been here: the mighty energies of mind have operated 
upon the scene, and " The wilderness and the solitary 
place are made glad; and the desert to rejoice and 
blossom like the rose." 

In the nature of things matter is subordinate and 
subservient to mind. It is but the offspring of mind, 
of the supreme and eternal mind, by whom it was 
spoken into existence, and endowed with the various 
laws and relations by which it is governed, and all its 
phenomena are produced. The human intellect being 
constituted in the image of the divine, is capable of 
perceiving and understanding these laws and relations, 



and through their instrumentaHty is enabled to exercise 
its delegated authority over this sublunary realm. The 
subjection of matter to the laws of the supreme intelli- 
gence is striking as it is admirable. Through theii* 
agency we can cause it to assume whatever form, or 
enter into whatever combination may suit our taste or 
convenience; but by acting in opposition to them, no 
beneficial result can be made to follow. It were in 
vain that the machinist or the chemist pursued such a 
course: modern science has long since demonstrated 
its futility. And is it not apparent that in morals^ as 
in nature, good can only flow from conformity to the 
laws of the moral governor of the universe. 

The whole constitution of nature seems designed to 
invite and stimulate man to exercise his intellectual and 
moral faculties — to evoke into life and activity the 
" god-like spirit within," while the universe is spread 
out around him rich with the materials of enjoyment — 
replete with the treasures of the animal, vegetable, and 
mineral kingdoms — the wealth, the beauties, and glo- 
ries of earth, air, and sky — he cannot satisfy the sim- 
plest want without an eflfort of his reason. Thus, the 
strong influence of necessity urges him at once to the 
exertion of his nobler powers, and, with the profuse li- 
berality of a generous mistress, nature rewards the in- 
^lustry of her student, at each step crowning his labors 
with some new discovery, some valuable acquisition 
— leading him on by constant encouragement — ex- 
citing his ardor in the pursuit of truth by frequent 
success — and thus developing his faculties, and ex- 
panding those sublime capacities, by which he is ena- 
bled to receive the grand ideas of moral truth, and 



8 

the lofty conception of the great author and source of 
all truth. 

In no department of intellectual exertion has the 
mind displayed a wider grasp, a higher reach, or more 
commanding dignity, than in the pursuit of science. 
The mind of Newton, with a more daring flight than 
the eagle's, when it soars above the clouds, its steady 
gaze fixed upon the noon-day sun, ascended up to the 
contemplation of the solar system, and discovered the 
laws by which it is governed — the mysterious powers 
by which the planets are held in their unvarying and 
eternal orbits. Astronomy has measured the heavens, 
has computed the magnitudes and distances of the hea- 
venly bodies, and even followed the fiery comet in its 
erratic flight, and predicted the period of its return. 
The genius of Franklin penetrated the mystery of the 
thunder cloud, and seizing the forked lightning as it 
flashed, drew it harmless to the earth. Passing over 
a host of other names, such as Bacon, and Laplace, 
and Davy, who have immortalized themselves by their 
discoveries and achievements in science, I will only 
mention Fulton, another of the bright galaxy of sci- 
entific men whom our country proudly boasts as her 
own — the individual to whom we owe the application 
of steam to the purposes of navigation; an improve- 
ment which introduced a new era in the history of in- 
ternal navigation, and now promises to give the ma- 
riner a mastery over the sea that he never anticipated 
in his wildest dream. Already the gallant steam ship 
ploughs the Atlantic wave, riding proudly onward, in 
defiance of wind and storm, and startling Neptune in 
his old dominions with unwonted sounds. 



9 

When we turn to the page of ancient history we 
are struck with the superiority of Greece and Rome 
over all other nations. While other empires present 
nothing but the dark picture of millions bowed beneath 
the yoke of tyranny — the gloom of profound ignorance 
which rests upon them, uncheered by a single ray of 
intellect — the calm of despotism, unbroken by a single 
struggle for liberty — in those favored nations we be- 
hold learning and the arts flourishing, and freedom 
unfurling her banner to the breeze! In them the 
energies of mind were aroused from the apathy that 
enshrouded the rest of the world — talent was de- 
veloped — the genius of Greece and Rome was en- 
kindled, and their statesmen, their philosophers, their 
poets, their historians, their sculptors and architects, 
erected monuments to their own and their country's 
glory which have perpetuated their fame to the latest 
generations. The splendid ruins of the Acropohs and 
the Colliseum still excite the admiration of the artist. 
The music of Homer's lyre — the thunders of Demos- 
thenes — and the echoes of Tully's eloquence, still 
charm the ear of mankind. But to the eye of the free- 
man, the civil liberty and free institutions which dis- 
tinguished those nations crown them with a glory even 
above that of literary renown. Their example con- 
firms the idea, that intelligence is the only basis of civil 
freedom — that knowledge and intellectual cultivation 
go hand in hand with free institutions. Plants, if 
placed in the dark, will not grow: they require the 
light and heat of the sun ; and liberty is a plant that 
will r^ot thrive without the light and vivifying influence 

2 



10 

of knowledge and intellect. Encompassed with the 
darkness of ignorance, it droops and dies. 

The page of modern history is equally instructive 
as to the superiority which a nation attains from in- 
tellectual power. Great Britain, the country of our 
ancestors, is a signal instance. Isolated from the con- 
tinent of Europe, with an extent of territory not equal 
to one half of that of our own country, she holds the 
first rank amongst the nations of the earth, swaying 
her sceptre over a population of one hundred and fifty 
millions — her victorious navy gaining for her the 
proud title of " mistress of the sea" — her commerce en- 
circling the globe, and enriching her with the trea- 
sures of every clime — while her literature, her science 
and arts, and, above all, her civil and religious liber- 
ties, render her the admiration of the world. If it be 
enquired to what she owes this superiority, history re- 
plies — ^to her national mind, quickened into activity by 
the ethereal fire of liberty, whose electric spark, first 
caught fi"om the Protestant Reformers of Germany, 
and fostered by the genial influence of the Bible, has 
continued to burn with undiminished lustre. It is to 
the minds of her Hampdens, her Miltons, her Bacons, 
her Lockes, and Newtons, that she owes her commer- 
cial and political greatness, as well as her intellectual 
renown. 

Our own happy country presents the widest field, 
and the highest inducements for intellectual exertion, 
that were ever enjoyed by any nation. Upon this re- 
publican soil there is no privileged class — no heredi- 
tary nobility to monopolize the honors of the state. No 



ii 

titled dunce can here usurp the rightful rewards of 
genius and merit. The highest offices and honors of 
the nation being open to the attainment of any citizen 
who may aspire to them, genius and talent are invited 
to put forth their energies, and enter the lists of com- 
petition for political distinction. Cincinnatus like, the 
farmer may leave his plough to take hold of the helm 
of state, and the mechanic his bench to legislate for 
his country. 

But not only as regards political preferment does 
our country present this unbounded field for mental 
enterprise: in every other department of hfe there is 
the same unfettered scope. The various avocations 
and professions of society are open to every aspirant 
after wealth and honor, regardless of rank or condi- 
tion; talent being the only passport, and success the 
only road to distinction. The magnificent territory of 
our Union, with its vast and, comparatively, undeve- 
loped resources, affords ample room for the exertion of 
the abilities of all her citizens. The annals of history 
record no instance of a state of society so favorable to 
the universal development of the human mind. It is 
reasonable therefore to anticipate that our country, at 
some future period in its onward progress of improve- 
ment, will present an exhibition not of individual but 
of general intellectual superiority, such as the world 
has never seen. May the benign influence of virtue 
and religion be the ascendant power over this realm of 
mind ! 

Let us not, however, in surveying the advantages 
which belong to us as American citizens, fix our at- 
tention only upon the opportunities afforded us of 



n 

individual, of merely selfish aggrandizement. That 
were an object unworthy of our exclusive regard. 
The American citizen is invested with a fer higher 
privilege, and should be influenced by a nobler aim. 
He is a member of a nation, scarce passed from in- 
fancy, which has attempted the grand experiment of 
self-government; which has undertaken to demon- 
strate that man is capable of governing himself, and of 
enjoying civil and religious liberty, unchecked by any 
despotic control whatsoever. The result of that ex- 
periment is yet to be seen. The character of the 
people, upon which its success must finally depend, is 
now being formed ; and upon every citizen of the Re- 
public rests the high and solemn duty of contributing 
to the formation of that character a virtuous influence. 
In the position which he occupies, and according to 
the measure of his power, it is his distinguished privi- 
lege to aid, by the dissemination of correct principles, 
and a virtuous example, in carrying forward this great 
experiment of fi'eedom to a successful and triumphant 
issue. 

The very nature of our government demands intelli- 
gence in its citizens, and that the national mind should 
be educated. Most other governments have been 
founded in violence and blood — have been imposed 
upon the people, originally, without (or contrary to) 
their consent ; and, in some measure, are sustained by 
arbitrary and physical force. But the government of 
the United States, having been founded on human 
reason, and the will of the governed, and being sus- 
tained by the same influence, is emphatically a gov- 
ernment of mind. The sovereignty being vested in 



13 

the people, and their rulers chosen by them at short 
intervals, government is absolutely under their control: 
its policy and measures must take their shape from the 
popular will. If the people be intelligent and virtuous, 
the government will be wise and equitable. But if the 
people be ignorant and vicious, the government will be 
ten-fold more unwise and corrupt. If ignorance be 
permitted to seize the helm, the gallant bark of our 
Republic must inevitably strike upon those breakers 
on which other empires and republics have been 
wrecked. An ignorant, and consequently corrupt, po- 
pulation is most dangerous to the State. It is like an 
immense mass of nitrous powder — a single spark may 
ignite it, and the explosion shake the fabric of our 
free institutions to its very centre. The demagogue 
and the traitor, throwing his firebrand into the midst of 
such a population, may kindle it into a flame at once,, 
and conjuring up the demons of anarchy and rapine to 
do their work, elevate himself upon the ruins of free- 
dom and of social order. If, then, we would not see 
the pillars of this splendid edifice of liberty broken and 
scattered in the dust — but if we would see it stand un- 
shaken and resplendent, like the temple of Jerusalem 
to the Israelites of old, the sacred asylum to which the 
oppressed in all lands may turn their eyes for encour- 
agement and hope — let education be extended to every 
rank of society — let its genial influence spread over 
the wide domain of the Republic — let it ascend every 
mountain — let it penetrate every valley, and be dif- 
fused over every plain, until the light of intelligence 
and virtue shall be kindled at every fireside, and in 
every hamlet of the land. 



14 

But to ensure the beneficial results of education, it 
must not be divorced from sound morality and true re- 
ligion. There is a spurious system of philosophy that 
presumptuously attempts to explain the causes of things 
by first striking from existence the Great First Cause 
of all things. There is a false theory of education, that 
regards man as a mere intellectual animal, sustaining 
no relation to a higher power, or future state of ex- 
istence — born but to "strut his brief hour upon the 
stage," and then to perish forever. That system and 
that theory is Infidelity — the bane of society — the 
moral upas, beneath whose blighting influence all that 
is virtuous in principle, and excellent in character, 
withers and decays. To learn its bitter fruits, it is 
only necessary to revert to the scenes of revolutionary 
France — to that bloodiest page in the history of na- 
tions, styled the "Reign of Terror;" when infidelity 
unfurled her dark banner in triumph over the land ; 
when reason was proclaimed the national deity, and 
the inscription was written over the sepulchres of Pa- 
ris, "Death is an everlasting sleep;" when atheism, 
like a fiend instinct with fury and destruction, stalked 
abroad, severing every tie of affection, and every bond 
that held society together — trampling in the dust all 
that was sacred in humanity and religion, and drench- 
ing the soil of unhappy France with the blood of my- 
riads of her children. This is the first example which 
history records of the general triumph of infidelity in 
any nation — and it stands a warning to all succeeding 
ages. Infidelity has ever been wont to make its insi- 
dious approach in the specious guise of reason and 
philosophy, and with all the fascinations that literature 



15 

and science could throw around it. But whatever pre- 
tensions it may assume, however it may disguise its 
deformity, as young men, and as patriots — as friends 
of humanity and of our country, let us resist it as the 
deadliest foe to both. 

Man is a physical, an intellectual, and a moral being, 
and his perfection in the present life depends upon a 
just and harmonious culture and development of his 
entire nature ; but the error has long prevailed of cul- 
tivating and dignifying one part of his constitution to 
the almost entire neglect of the rest. Thus during the 
period preceding the revival of learning in Europe, 
commonly styled the age of chivalry and romance, 
physical superiority was regarded as conferring the 
highest dignity ; symmetry and strength of frame were 
esteemed as the most valuable endowments; and the 
gallant knight, clad in a coat of armour, and bearing 
a sword whose enormous weight is sufficient to crush 
the strength of one of his puny descendants, won for 
himself the laurels of honor in the gay tournament, or 
upon the "embattled field." The age of chivalry, 
with its lofty courtesy and heroic deeds of daring 
prowess, has long since passed away, and intellectual 
has gained the ascendency over physical force. But 
this latter period has been characterized by a similar 
error to that of the first, intellect being dignified with 
the highest importance, and every effort bent to culti- 
vate and improve it, while the moral nature of man 
has been suffered to remain a waste — the fruitful soil 
of noxious weeds — and scarce an effort made to subdue 
its rank luxuriance, or to rear in its stead the beau- 
teous and fragrant flowers of virtue. Of the truth of 



16 

this observation the frequent and melancholy picture 
of the brightest intellectual splendor combined with the 
darkest moral debasement affords ample proof. Lord 
Byron, the greatest of recent poets, is a striking in- 
stance. Although 

" He through learning and through fancy took 
His flight sublime ; and on the loftiest top 
Of Fame's dread moimtain sat," 

he was enslaved to the most pernicious vices, and sunk 
in the most debasing sensuality. But let it be remem- 
bered that man is a moral as well as an intellectual 
being; that he is related to the spiritual world above 
him as well as to the material beneath him — to the 
future as well as the present. And while the intellect 
is expanded and adorned, let not the education of the 
heart be neglected. 

It is a common opinion that any attention to litera- 
ture or mental cultivation is incompatible with mercan- 
tile pursuits: that books and study belong exclusively 
to the professional man, while the merchant is to be 
confined, in his researches, to the pages of his leger, 
or of the morning newspaper. It is true, that in order 
to success in any pursuit, a man's attention and ener- 
gies must be concentrated upon it. But I would ask 
how can the merchant employ his leisure hours, which 
the intervals of active duty bring even to the most as- 
siduous, more usefully or pleasantly than in the culti- 
vation of literature, and the acquisition of knowledge? 
Will the mental discipline, the extensive information, 
and enlarged views, resulting from these refined and 
elevated studies, make him less skilful or energetic in 
the prosecution of business? Far be it firom the Ame- 



17 

rican merchant that his influence and example should 
be found on the side of ignorance. He belongs to a 
class of men whose position and importance in society 
give them a wide and commanding influence ; and in 
accordance with the exalted character and destinies of 
the American nation, feeling that greatness of soul 
which throbs in the breast of every true citizen, they 
should be foremost in the encouragement and promo- 
tion of those liberal and intellectual objects which con- 
tribute so essentially to the glory and stability of their 
country. Mercantile pursuits, useful and honorable as 
they are, have a tendency to engender selfish and illi- 
beral feelings— to throw around the soul an earthly 
and debasing influence; it is well, therefore, that we 
should sometimes ascend to a higher and purer atmos- 
phere, where the " sun of science" serenely shines, and 
the spirit may expand in native energy and freedom. 

There is a pleasure connected with the acquisition 
of knowledge more satisfactory and permanent than all 
the gratifications of sense. This pleasure is experi- 
enced by the child when its infantile curiosity is first 
gratified, and its wonder excited by some new or cu- 
rious object. And it thrills the soul of the philosopher, 
and lightens his pale countenance with a gleam of joy, 
when some new truth flashes upon his mind, as he toils 
in patient thought over the midnight lamp. 

« Man loves knowledge, and the beams of truth 
More welcome touch his understanding's eye 
Than all the blandishments of sound his ear, 
Than all of taste his tongue." 

The pleasures of knowledge are also unlimited and 
inexhaustible: their sources are as numerous and di- 

3 



versified as the field of truth is wide and unbounded. 
History unfolds her ample page, stored with the re- 
cords of the mighty past, and replete with the lessons 
of sage experience. Science unlocks the vast arcana 
of nature, in which the student may expatiate at large, 
finding no limit to discovery, and ever charmed by 
some new display of the matchless skill and wisdom of 
its author. It opens to our view the internal structure 
of the earth — its hidden strata, which, like belts of 
adamant, encircle the globe, and reveals the buried 
remains of former creations. It leads us through the 
grand laboratory of nature, showing us its secret pro- 
cesses, and the varied properties and affinities of matter. 
It conducts us amidst the diversified orders of animals, 
vegetables, and minerals ; and in its upward excursions 

" Teaches us to stray 
Far as the solar walk or milky way." 

So boundless indeed is the field of scientific research, 
that the great Sir Isaac Newton said of himself, not- 
withstanding his splendid discoveries, " I do not know 
what I may appear to the world ; but to myself I seem 
to have been only like a boy playing on the sea shore, 
and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother 
pebble, or a prettier shell than ordinary, while the 
great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me." 

On this floor. Gentlemen, we but carry forward the 
education which we had commenced in boyhood. To 
say when a young man is dismissed from the halls of 
instruction that he hcis finished his education is a grand 
mistake — it is only begun. He has only laid the foun- 
dation — the edifice is yet to be reared. He has only 



19 

acquired the elements of that knowledge, whicli is to be 
enlarged, digested, and matured by the studies of after 
years. He has only entered upon that course of mental 
training, a vigorous perseverance in which, alone, can 
develop the full measure of his powers. The human 
mind, as if prophetic of its destiny, is endowed with a 
capacity for endless improvement. As it journies for- 
ward the horizon of truth continually recedes, and new- 
prospects burst upon the view. Whatever point of ele- 
vation it attains, there is yet a higher sphere above it, 
and yet a higher ; and who can tell but that it is des- 
tined to rise forever in its approximation to the centre 
and summit of all perfection! 

Let us not, however, imagine for a moment that any 
thing is to be accomplished in the world of mind, any 
more than in that of matter, without exertion. Know- 
ledge is not obtained miraculously, nor by intuition, but 
by the slow and gradual process of patient research. 
The river does not swell at once into a flood. At its 
source perhaps it is only a small rivulet, winding its 
serpentine course through the valley, but as it flows on, 
increased by the waters of a thousand tributaries, it 
widens, and deepens, and swells into a mighty stream, 
bearing on its ample tide the freighted commerce of 
nations. Neither do the faculties of the mind spring 
into maturity at once. Between their development 
and those of the physical frame there is a striking 
analogy. Its organs and faculties attain their just pro- 
portions, and are hardened into firmness and vigour by 
constant exercise. In like manner the mental faculties 
are expanded and strengthened by exertion. The eflect 
of judicious and untiring exercise is truly astonishing. 



io 

It may be observed by comparing the weak and fragile 
form of a child with the muscular and colossal frame 
of a Hercules. But its effect upon the mental faculties 
is equally surprizing; nor is the contrast less striking 
between the untutored mind of a savage and the dis- 
ciplined and gigantic intellect of a Newton. It is too 
frequently the case, that while young men are ambi- 
tious of intellectual superiority — while they admire the 
achievements of great minds, and pant to rival them — 
they are wrapt in the paralyzing delusion that talent 
springs up spontaneously, and waiting to become ge- 
niuses, they fall even below mediocrity; whereas if 
they would arouse from these idle dreams — shake off 
their sloth, and address themselves vigorously to the 
achievement of the excellence after which they aspire, 
success must crown the effort. Writing to a young 
man on the subject of mental improvement, William 
Wirt used this emphatic language: "Of this be as- 
sured — I speak, from observation, a certain truth — 
There is no excellence without great labor. 
It is the fiat of fate, from which no power of genius 
can absolve." 

But, Gentlemen, while we aim at our own indivi- 
dual improvement — the culture and elevation of our 
spiritual nature — let us not forget that we owe certain 
duties to society, which it is our solemn obligation and 
highest honor to fulfil. To seek the welfare of the 
entire human race is the noblest impulse of humanity, 
and the universal duty of man; but to seek our coun- 
try's good is the special and imperative duty of the 
citizen. The sphere of benevolence should widen, 
like the spreading circle on the placid surface of a 



21 

stream disturbed by the dropping of a pebble — self the 
centre, from which it extends to our family, our neigh- 
bors, our country, and finally embracing the world in 
its enlarged circumference. There is a false and selfish 
ambition too prevalent at the present day — a craving 
after distinction and the honors and emoluments of 
oflice — unredeemed by a single aspiration for the public 
good. Such ambition, the voice of history warns us, 
is destructive of all patriotism and pubHc virtue. It is 
as incompatible with the dignity and independence of 
a freeman as it is characteristic of a sycophant or a 
slave. There is as wide a difference between the 
mere oflice seeker and the patriot as there was be- 
tween the magnanimity of a Cincinnatus, who twice 
resigned the absolute dictatorship of Rome, voluntarily 
retiring, after he had saved the state, to the peaceful 
pursuits of private life, and the treachery of a Cataline, 
who would sacrifice his country at the shrine of selfish 
ambition. A citizen should seek to qualify himself for 
the discharge of any duty that he may be called upon 
to render — to merit rather than to grasp at office — and 
if tlie wreath of political honor should descend upon 
his brow, he enjoys the consciousness that it is the vo- 
luntary tribute of public respect, and not the purchase 
of bribery or solicitation. The only ambition worthy 
of man is that of benefiting his country and his race — 
objects within the compass of every individual — which 
do not require him to mingle in the storms of political 
strife — which may be pursued in the retired walks of 
private life. Who is there that may not share in the 
grand achievements of benevolence — that may not con- 
tribute to the advancement of human happiness, by 



22 

lending his aid, his talents, his means, to some of those 
institutions or measures calculated to ameliorate the 
condition and elevate the character of society? 

" Peace hath her victories, as well as war." 

And these moral achievements, these triumphs of phi- 
lanthropy, possess more intrinsic glory than the proud- 
est exploits of an Alexander or a Caesar. The consci- 
ousness that we have not lived in vain — that we do not 
fade from the world without leaving some beneficial 
impression upon it — is better than to have our names 
sculptured in " monumental marble," or proclaimed by 
the loud blast 

" Of Fame's obstrep'rous trump." 

The examples of the wise and good of all ages 
prompt us on in the career of self-improvement and 
disinterested benevolence: and not least inspiring 
amongst the mighty dead is the honored name which 
we have attached to our Institute. That respected in- 
dividual, whose sun has but lately set, and whose me- 
mory will long be held in admiration by his country- 
men, was an example to every young man. Left an 
orphan at an early age, without the opportunities of a 
regular education, by the force of his industry and ta- 
lents he rose to the first rank as an orator and a jurist: 
and above all, his splendid abilities and profound ac- 
quirements were adorned with the pure morality and 
humble piety of a christian. May our Institute prove 
worthy of the name of William Wirt; and when 
some future chronicler shall write the history of our 
city, may he have something more and higher to re- 
cord respecting it than that it once existed, and passed 
away. 



